{"id":3502,"date":"2013-12-24T14:35:03","date_gmt":"2013-12-24T19:35:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/?p=3502"},"modified":"2013-12-24T15:03:03","modified_gmt":"2013-12-24T20:03:03","slug":"pope-john-paul-ii-marxist-in-bethlehem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/2013\/12\/pope-john-paul-ii-marxist-in-bethlehem\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope John Paul II, Marxist, in Bethlehem"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

The M word<\/a> in the title is, of course, a joke \u2026 <\/p>\n

The message of the Gospel, of course, remains the same under Pope Francis \u2014 and so much of what he says is an (not all that simple but radical) invitation to Christ, to know God\u2019s love and mercy. On my birthday (random fact) during Mass in Manger\u2019s Square in Bethlehem in 2000, Pope John Paul II said<\/a> the same: <\/p>\n

The newborn Child, defenseless and totally dependent on the care of Mary and Joseph, entrusted to their love, is the world\u2019s entire wealth. He is our all!\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

All.<\/em> Everything.<\/em> That has daily, hourly, minute-to-minute implications. It does not allow for indifference<\/a>. We need not be afraid, because God is with us. The Incarnation made that unmistakably clear. And so did the rest of the story of Salvation History. And so it does. Why hesitate when victory has been won? <\/p>\n

This, by the way, is the <\/em>spot marked in Bethlehem, as seen from my Blackberry (taken one recent Lent):<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

When he celebrated Mass in Manger\u2019s Square in 2009, Pope Benedict said<\/a>: <\/p>\n

For men and women everywhere, Bethlehem is associated with this joyful message of rebirth, renewal, light and freedom. Yet here, in our midst, how far this magnificent promise seems from being realized! <\/p>\n

\u2026<\/p>\n

From the day of his birth, Jesus was \u201ca sign of contradiction\u201d (Lk 2:34), and he continues to be so, even today. <\/p>\n

\u2026<\/p>\n

Here in Bethlehem, a special perseverance is asked of Christ\u2019s disciples: perseverance in faithful witness to God\u2019s glory revealed here, in the birth of his Son, to the good news of his peace which came down from heaven to dwell upon the earth.<\/p>\n

\u2026<\/p>\n

The ancient Basilica of the Nativity, buffeted by the winds of history and the burden of the ages, stands before us as a witness to the faith which endures and triumphs over the world (cf. 1 Jn 5:4).\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

A beautiful prayer for Christmas night \u2014 and every night and morning \u2014 comes from John XXIII, who will be canonized on Divine Mercy Sunday along with John Paul II in 2014 by a pope who is mercifully obsessed with mercy: <\/p>\n

Make haste, O Jesus, I offer you my heart; my soul is poor and bare of virtues, the straws of so many imperfections will prick you and make you weep \u2014 but O my Lord what can you expect? This little is all I have. I am touched by your poverty, I am moved to tears\u2026 Jesus, honor my soul with your presence, adorn it with your graces\u2026
\nJesus, I am here waiting for your coming. Wicked men have driven you out and the wind is like ice. Come into my heart. I am a poor man but I will warm you as well as I can. At least be pleased that I wish to welcome you warmly, to love you dearly and sacrifice myself for you. But in your own way you are rich and you see my needs. You are a flame of charity and you will purge my heart of all that is not your own most holy Heart. You are uncreated holiness and you will fill me with those graces which give new life to my soul. O Jesus, come, I have so much to tell you, so many sorrows to confide, so many desires, so many promises, so many hopes. I want to adore you, to kiss you on the brow, O tiny Jesus, to give myself to you once more, for ever. Come, my Jesus, delay no longer, come, be my guest.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To make room for Christ to be the center of our lives is a lifelong commitment, requiring daily growth and renewal and continual surrender. Any good shepherd is going to exhort us to our call, to be truly Christian<\/a>. What an opportunity another Christmas is to grow in faith! <\/p>\n

Spend time with our Lord. Read about Christ. Pray. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The M word in the title is, of course, a joke \u2026 The message of the Gospel, of course, remains the same under Pope Francis \u2014 and so much of what he says is an (not all that simple but radical) invitation to Christ, to know God\u2019s love and mercy. On my birthday (random fact) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":536,"featured_media":3503,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[878,68,877,73],"class_list":["post-3502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-benedict-xvi","tag-bethlehem","tag-church-of-the-nativity","tag-john-paul-ii"],"yoast_head":"\nPope John Paul II, Marxist, in Bethlehem<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The M word in the title is, of course, a joke ... The message of the Gospel, of course, remains the same under Pope Francis -- and so much of what he says\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/2013\/12\/pope-john-paul-ii-marxist-in-bethlehem\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pope John Paul II, Marxist, in Bethlehem\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The M word in the title is, of course, a joke ... The message of the Gospel, of course, remains the same under Pope Francis -- and so much of what he says\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/2013\/12\/pope-john-paul-ii-marxist-in-bethlehem\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Kathryn Lopez\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-12-24T19:35:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-12-24T20:03:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/127\/2013\/12\/staronmyblackberry.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"4608\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"3440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kathryn Jean Lopez\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kathryn Jean Lopez\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/2013\/12\/pope-john-paul-ii-marxist-in-bethlehem\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/2013\/12\/pope-john-paul-ii-marxist-in-bethlehem\/\",\"name\":\"Pope John Paul II, Marxist, in Bethlehem\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-12-24T19:35:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-12-24T20:03:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/#\/schema\/person\/cbddfa2e0456cff0a5234c725f63ffda\"},\"description\":\"The M word in the title is, of course, a joke ... The message of the Gospel, of course, remains the same under Pope Francis -- and so much of what he says\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/2013\/12\/pope-john-paul-ii-marxist-in-bethlehem\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/2013\/12\/pope-john-paul-ii-marxist-in-bethlehem\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/2013\/12\/pope-john-paul-ii-marxist-in-bethlehem\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Pope John Paul II, Marxist, in Bethlehem\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/\",\"name\":\"Kathryn Lopez\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/#\/schema\/person\/cbddfa2e0456cff0a5234c725f63ffda\",\"name\":\"Kathryn Jean Lopez\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c421ba249ced613131bfda0562ad982d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c421ba249ced613131bfda0562ad982d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kathryn Jean Lopez\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/author\/kathrynlopez\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pope John Paul II, Marxist, in Bethlehem","description":"The M word in the title is, of course, a joke ... The message of the Gospel, of course, remains the same under Pope Francis -- and so much of what he says","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/2013\/12\/pope-john-paul-ii-marxist-in-bethlehem\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Pope John Paul II, Marxist, in Bethlehem","og_description":"The M word in the title is, of course, a joke ... The message of the Gospel, of course, remains the same under Pope Francis -- and so much of what he says","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/2013\/12\/pope-john-paul-ii-marxist-in-bethlehem\/","og_site_name":"Kathryn Lopez","article_published_time":"2013-12-24T19:35:03+00:00","article_modified_time":"2013-12-24T20:03:03+00:00","og_image":[{"width":"4608","height":"3440","url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/127\/2013\/12\/staronmyblackberry.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Kathryn Jean Lopez","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kathryn Jean Lopez","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/2013\/12\/pope-john-paul-ii-marxist-in-bethlehem\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/2013\/12\/pope-john-paul-ii-marxist-in-bethlehem\/","name":"Pope John Paul II, Marxist, in Bethlehem","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-12-24T19:35:03+00:00","dateModified":"2013-12-24T20:03:03+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/#\/schema\/person\/cbddfa2e0456cff0a5234c725f63ffda"},"description":"The M word in the title is, of course, a joke ... The message of the Gospel, of course, remains the same under Pope Francis -- and so much of what he says","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/2013\/12\/pope-john-paul-ii-marxist-in-bethlehem\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/2013\/12\/pope-john-paul-ii-marxist-in-bethlehem\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/2013\/12\/pope-john-paul-ii-marxist-in-bethlehem\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Pope John Paul II, Marxist, in Bethlehem"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/","name":"Kathryn Lopez","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/#\/schema\/person\/cbddfa2e0456cff0a5234c725f63ffda","name":"Kathryn Jean Lopez","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c421ba249ced613131bfda0562ad982d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c421ba249ced613131bfda0562ad982d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kathryn Jean Lopez"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/author\/kathrynlopez\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/536"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3502"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3502\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kathrynlopez\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}